His voice floated into his ears before rushing towards his mind, like a lit firework, shooting into the clouds…
Before glimmeringly combusting in his heart.
It was the most gentle of weapons, utterly destroying his ability to think and speak.
Xu Qichen slowly pulled away and looked into his eyes, as though awaiting Song Yuanyan’s reply. Although, in all honestly, he did not think there was a real need for it.
It was a bad habit that he must have picked up from someone; looking at the speechless Song Yuanyan, Xu Qichen had an urge to tease him some more.
He hung his walking stick in the crook of his elbow. He then rested his hands on Song Yuanyan’s chest and with great deliberation, slowly began to button his shirt up for him.
With his eyes lowered, in a soft voice he said, “Why aren’t you replying to me? Is it because you don’t like me?”
For some reason, in Song Yuanyan’s eyes, the sight of him buttoning his shirt was even more seductive than someone stripping.
He’s probably losing his mind.
He grabbed Xu Qichen’s hand.
“I like–” he started to say, but either due to anxiety or the cold weather, he started coughing instead.
And could not seem to stop.
Xu Qichen started laughing. He removed the coat on his shoulders and draped it on its owner.
Song Yuanyan felt extremely embarrassed. This was his chance to press the man in front of him against the wall and kiss him senseless. Instead, he had become so nervous that he started coughing until his face turned red.
“I–” He coughed some more.
Xu Qichen draped the coat more firmly around him, then wrapped his arms around his waist under the coat, and hugged him.
“I know.” He patted his back gently, “I know.”
A hug is the best solution for when you are feeling anxious.
Song Yuanyan, who had gradually stopped coughing, buried his face in Xu Qichen’s neck. Smelling himself on him gave him a strange sense of satisfaction and he could not help letting out a pleased sigh.
“Even if you know, I still have to say it.” He kissed Xu Qichen’s pulse point, “I like you.”
Although he already knew the answer, Xu Qichen still felt his heart move when he heard it.
Suddenly, Song Yuanyan raised his head, “What about you?”
Xu Qichen tilted his head, “Me?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“You haven’t said you like me.”
Vfflcu atf qfgrbc lc ogbca bo tlw jmalcu ilxf j mbwqfalalnf mtliv, We Hlmtfc tfiv yjmx j rwlif jcv rjlv, “Po P vlvc’a ilxf sbe, kts kbeiv P xlrr sbe?”
Vbcu Tejcsjc gfoerfv ab yjmx vbkc, “Zjsyf… la’r j xlrr bo mbegafrs.”
Cmalcu jccbsfv, We Hlmtfc qlcmtfv Vbcu Tejcsjc’r mtlc nlmlberis, “Vb sbe ub jgbecv xlrrlcu batfg qfbqif bea bo mbegafrs?”
Song Yuanyan quickly tried to explain himself, “No! I don’t! I mean those foreigners who greet with hugs, and the French even greet with kisses! I mean that kind of courtesy.”
“Oh~” Xu Qichen purposely dragged out the word.
For some reason, seeing Xu Qichen like this, Song Yuanyan felt like he was losing his advantage over him, and wanted to bully him.
Xu Qichen, who was still under the euphoria of having teased him, was suddenly grabbed by the waist.
“The French are not just known for kissing each other while greeting.” Song Yuanyan came closer and smirked, “I can teach you.”
His voice was very low. It immediately lit a fire inside Xu Qichen’s heart, just like the glass of wine that he had drunk earlier.
Xu Qichen felt a bit nervous. The man in front of him seemed to have changed from the boy who was so nervous just now that he had started coughing, “… Teach me what?”
“French kiss.”
Before he could react, Song Yuanyan kissed him.
To be honest, even though Xu Qichen had shaken off his cowardice, his courage would have never extended beyond a peck.
Unlike Song Yuanyan, he could never become the leader or an aggressor.
Song Yuanyan’s lips pressed against his and their breaths intertwined, exuding the faint aroma of wine. The cool, subtle scent of tobacco flavor mixed with lemon perfume, added to the fervor under the stirring moonlight.
The wet tip of Song Yuanyan’s tongue licked Xu Qichen’s dry lower lip and dyed it with a crystal sheen. It then slid over the front of his teeth, just like how his slender fingers had danced across the keys of the piano previously, precisely and lightly.
The moment his fingers slid under the hem of his shirt and along the ridges of his spine, Xu Qichen felt his knees weaken. To maintain his balance he could either lean against the cold wall or burrow further into Song Yuanyan’s arms. But before he could make that decision, the intruder tongue broke past the walls of his teeth, and entered his moist and warm mouth, gently prodding.
Song Yuanyan felt him slide down and tightened his arms around him in response. He nudged his knee between Xu Qichen’s thighs even as his tongue continued swiping teasingly over the roof of his mouth.
The wet sounds of their kiss seemed to be amplified infinitely in the quiet moonlit night.
Xu Qichen’s hands, unconciously creased Song Yuanyan’s shirt from behind. When he felt like his last breath was about to be taken away by him, he pushed against the broad shoulders fiercely. However, the other party did not intend to let him go so easily. With no other choice left, he grabbed the walking stick and hit Song Yuanyan on the leg.
Song Yuanyan finally let go to rub at his painful leg, “Ouch… Aren’t you being too vicious?”
Xu Qichen leaned his back against the wall and gasped for breath. Thinking of his initial flirtation, he said unhappily, “Think of it as the lesson fee.”
Song Yuanyan laughed out loud, “Then I’ll have to check if you have learnt it well.”
Xu Qichen raised the walking stick again in a silent threat.
“You look very handsome even when you’re angry.”
Xu Qichen looked away. His entire being felt infused with softness and warmth.
“Let’s go home.”
“So early?”
Song Yuanyan gave him a look, “Why? Do you want to stay here and flirt with someone else?”
When Xu Qichen finally felt like he could stand up straight on his own two feet, he said with a soft smile, “Isn’t that a plan? You dance, I flirt.”
Song Yuanyan pinched Xu Qichen’s cheek. “You’ve really grown up recently. I don’t want to dance any more. My heart and focus is always on you, so I’m always stepping on my partner’s feet. Who would dance with me once that becomes known?”
“And you shouldn’t talk with any women either, otherwise I’ll keep you hidden at home.” He grabbed Xu Qichen’s hand, “Go home with me.”
Holding back his smile, Xu Qichen let him take his hand as they both left the alley.
This was a familiar feeling.
Although, they had only met a few days ago, Xu Qichen felt like he had spent his previous life with him, and the life before, and the life before that…
And they had found each other again in this lifetime, to hold each others’ hand.
They walked out of the darkness, into where the lights of the banquet broke the ambiguous atmosphere. They tacitly released each other’s hands and walked one after the other, but the shadows they casted on the ground were still closely interwined with each other.
The driver had not expected them to come out so soon, “Young master, surely the dance has not yet ended…”
Song Yuanyan stuck both his hands in his coat pocket, “En, I’m hungry, I want to eat noodles.”
Even if the lady of the house had given him other instructions, upon hearing the young master say this, the driver could not object. He simply got into his seat and got ready to drive.
Song Yuanyan and Xu Qichen sat in the back. Like a bored child, Song Yuanyan’s restless toes kept bumping into the other’s toes. Xu Qichen poked the tips of his shoes with his walking stick to stop this childish behavior.
After their confession, their relationship had changed. So even the smallest action felt exciting.
“Just stop there, and you can go home first.” Song Yuanyan got out of the car, “This is near enough that we can walk home ourselves later.”
They went to a small noodles stall. This stall often appeared in the novel so Xu Qichen had some impression of it.
“Sister Liu, two plain noodle soups.”
Upon seeing Song Yuanyan, the boss lady smiled widely, “Welcome, young master. Ai? Even Ah Lin is wearing such fancy clothes today, where did you two go?”
Song Yuanyan took a seat at an empty table, “Don’t wanna talk about it. It was such a boring banquet, that it made me hungry.”
“Alright~ I’ll go cook your noodles.” The boss lady wiped her hands on her apron, opened a pot, and filled two bowls with steaming red bean paste. “Here, drink this while you wait. It will keep you warm.”
Xu Qichen liked the red bean paste very much. It’s sweet. All at once, he felt warmed to the core.
He suddenly thought of a question. “Earlier… why did you suddenly act drunk and cover up for me?”
Even though Song Yuanyan was the only person in this world that trusted completely, he still felt that his actions were quite strange.
Song Yuanyan glanced at him, “I went out to find you. It took me a while to find out that you were in that alley. So I sneaked up on you, intending to scare you.”
The boss lady served them their meal. Song Yuanyan drizzled a tablespoon of chili oil in Xu Qichen’s bowl before using the same spoon to carefully remove the scallions in it.
“Then I heard the conversation between the mother and son of the Liu family. They are truly vicious by the way, even intending to getting rid of their own brother and uncle. If I didn’t do what I did at that time, we would both have been found out.”
“That Liu guy had always disliked me. If he knew we had heard them, I’m sure he would have had us killed then and there.”
Xu Qichen silently observed him. It didn’t look like he was lying. He felt a little guilty for suspecting him, so he quietly lowered his head to eat.
Song Yuanyan only liked to eat plain noodles. This particular setting was due to Xu Qichen’s own self-indulgence.
“Hey…” Song Yuanyan suddenly stopped eating to say, “Call my name.”
“Song Yuanyan.”
“No, my courtesy name.”
Xu Qichen looked up, “No.”
“Why?” Under the table, Song Yuanyan kicked him, “You said it just now.”
Xu Qichen did not reply.
Seeing him play dead, Song Yuanyan sighed heavily, “Ai, why do you think my father gave me such a name?”
Xu Qichen placed his chopsticks down and asked, “What’s wrong with it?”
Song Yuanyan shook his head, “If there’s nothing wrong with it, why wouldn’t you say it?” He put both hands on the table and said wryly, “Big brother’s name is Mude, meaning to always uphold morality. Then, what does Muru mean?”
Xu Qichen said seriously, “To succeed with your head high, without aiming for glory and profit. The master hoped that you would be polished like a jade, not pursue fame and wealth, and become a pillar of talent.”
“Oh~” Song Yuanyan smiled, and continued eating, “You are behaving more and more like a literati now, making me feel bad about myself.”
Suppressing the urge to kick him back, Xu Qichen concentrated on simply finishing his noodles.
They’re so soft and cute and silly for each other my heart can’t take it 𝘴𝘰𝘣𝘴
Thank you for the chapter~
They’re adorable X3
🥰
Fun fact: In Finnish Muru is a pet name very similiar to calling someone lover~ As a Finnish person I found this funny.